THE CHILDREN OF THE RIVER VALLEY SCHOOL SHOW OFF THEIR ARTISTIC TALENT

Now when you visit our practice, look up at the ceiling tiles and admire the artistic talent of the children of the River Valley/Waldorf School, located in Upper Black Eddy, PA. The "Look Up" Art Initiative is a program where our practice works hand in hand with the several elementary school art teachers in our area. We supply the teachers with pieces of cardboard and the teacher then allows the students to unleash their artistic creativity to produce almost 20 pieces of children art. The art is then placed as ceiling tiles above our dental chairs, hence the program's name, the "Look Up" Art Initiative. Once we obtain new pieces of art, the program's coordinator, Jessica Parker, passes these tiles to dental assistant Donna Barkey. It's Donna who transports and donates these unique pieces to Neshaminy Manor, where they are displayed to brighten up the days of the elderly in our community.

CONGRATS JESSICA ITS BEEN 15 YEARS!

Congratulations to Jessica Parker for celebrating her 15th year at Rakowsky Dental working as a dental hygienist. She lives in Quakertown with her husband, Brock, and their two teenage children. Years ago Jessica remarked that the working culture here at Rakowsky Dental was similar to old, TV sitcom, "Cheers", "where everyone knows your name". Jessica has remained to be a major contributor to that working culture. Other than maintaining the periodontal health of her patients, Jessica is an active sports mom, enjoys yoga and as a side job, heads a franchise of Rodan and Fields which deals with health and beauty skin products.

CARLEY WINS FIRST PRIZE

(Pictured: Left: "For Her" Middle: "Advantage" Right: "Not Quite")

Carley Zarzecka, daughter of Sharon Yerkes and husband, Dr. Larry, received first place for her above displayed body of artwork named "Not Quite", "For Her" and "Advantage" at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The show was judged by the nationally known art curator, Diego Cortez. Carley, a river valley Waldorf School graduate specializes in structural art. She will be earning her Masters degree in Fine Art from U.N.C. in May 2018.

CASSIE EARNS HER X-RAY CERTIFICATION

Our newest dental assistant, Cassie Romberger, completed a dental assisting course at Bucks County Community College and recently earned her certification in Radiation and Health Safety. As a recent graduate of Palisades High School, she plans on continuing her career in dentistry as a full time chair side assistant and possibly earning a certificate in dental hygiene.

"DAY GUARDS" FOR THE HIGHLY STRESSED NIGHT GRINDER

In this article, we are not talking about acute stress (like needing to go to the dentist). The stress we want to address is chronic stress, the kind of stress that stays with you day after day. Whether the source of is school work, politics, child rearing or money problems these types of chronic stresses are very detrimental to our bodies and especially to our teeth, causing us to grind and clench. In a normal dental exam, most dentists can diagnose this problem and the most common initial treatment is the fabrication of a night guard.

But what happens when you wake up in the morning and realize you subconsciously removed the night guard while you slept due to its bulkiness? Or what if in fact you grind or clench your teeth while you are awake and can't wear your guard as it affects the way you speak? For these types of cases, we've found success using what our practice has coined as a "day guard". A conventional night guard is often bulky to wear and it's goal is to reduce the intensity of your night or daytime grinding or clenching habit. Our "day guard" works a different mechanism: behavior retraining. Because the "day guards" are very thin and fit so well, our office has found that patients don't remove them at night and can speak normally while being worn during the daytime. Because we make them in our office, the "day guards" are much less expensive as compared to a conventional night guard. So if you are one of those patients who cannot wear a conventional night guard, make an appointment to see if you are a candidate for one or a pair of our "day guards".